February 22 (SeeNews) - Most countries in Southeast Europe (SEE) have failed to make progress in the fight against corruption over the past year, according to a new survey published by non-governmental corruption watchdog Transparency International.
Seven SEE countries descended in 2017 rankings, three moved up the list, while Montenegro stood at 64th position in the new edition of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index global survey issued on Wednesday.
Each country scores from zero to 100 depending on the the perceived levels of public sector corruption. Top performers in the index, those with higher ranking and index score, do better in protecting the rights of journalists and activists.
Slovenia ranked highest in SEE, at 34th place, compared with 31st position in the 2016 edition of the index.
Bulgaria, Kosovo and Moldova were the only countries in SEE which improved their ranking. Kosovo moved up from 95th to 85th position, recording the largest improvement in the ranking among SEE countries.
Worst performing countries in SEE were Macedonia and Moldova, 107th and 122nd, respectively. Macedonia slipped by 17 places in the ranking from 90th spot in the 2016 edition.
SEE countries in global ranking (2017,2016):
Country: |
Ranking 2017 |
Ranking 2016 |
Slovenia |
34 |
31 |
Croatia |
57 |
55 |
Romania |
59 |
57 |
Montenegro |
64 |
64 |
Bulgaria |
71 |
75 |
Serbia |
77 |
72 |
Kosovo |
85 |
95 |
Albania |
91 |
83 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
91 |
83 |
Macedonia |
107 |
90 |
Moldova |
122 |
123 |
Source: Transparency International
The highest ranked states (perceived as least corrupt) are New Zealand, Denmark and Finland while Somalia is at the bottom of the ranking, which covers 180 countries worldwide.